Virtuosity is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Brett Leonard and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Howard W. Koch Jr. served as an executive producer for the film. The film was released in the United States on August 4, 1995. Virtuosity had an estimated budget of $30 million and grossed $37 million worldwide.
Rambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to First Blood (1982), it is the second installment in the Rambo franchise, followed by Rambo III. It co-stars Richard Crenna, who reprises his role as Colonel Sam Trautman, along with Charles Napier, Julia Nickson, and Steven Berkoff.
Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863.
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
Bryan Neathway Brown AM is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include Breaker Morant (1980), Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), F/X (1986), Tai-Pan (1986), Cocktail (1988), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), F/X2 (1991), Along Came Polly (2004), Australia (2008), Kill Me Three Times (2014) and Gods of Egypt (2016). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his performance in the television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).
The Battle of Ambon occurred Ambon Island in the Dutch East Indies, as part of the Japanese offensive on the Dutch colony during World War II. In the face of a combined defense by Dutch and Australian troops, Japanese forces conquered the island and its strategic airfield in several days. In the aftermath of the fighting, a major massacre of many Dutch and Australian prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) followed. Following the war, many of the IJA personnel were tried for war crimes.
The Cowra breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war attempted to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the largest prison escape of World War II, as well as one of the bloodiest. During the escape and ensuing manhunt, four Australian soldiers were killed and 231 Japanese soldiers were killed or committed suicide. The remaining escapees were re-captured and imprisoned.
A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and rōmusha out of the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong and Singapore in World War II. These POWs were taken to the Japanese Islands, Formosa, Manchukuo, Korea, the Moluccas, Sumatra, Burma, or Siam to be used as forced labor.
Stephen Henry Wallace A.M. is an Australian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, published author and acting coach. He has directed eight feature films, nine telemovies, numerous short films, worked on multiple television series and has a small theatre company.
Nicholas Eadie is an Australian television, film and theatre actor.
Alan David Lee is an Australian actor.
Hugh Vincent Clarke was an Australian soldier, public servant and author, specialising in military history.
Changi is a six-part Australian television miniseries broadcast by ABC TV in 2001. It originally aired from 14 October 2001 to 18 November 2001.
Far East is a 1982 Australian drama film directed by John Duigan and starring Bryan Brown, Helen Morse and John Bell. Far East has many similarities to the 1942 classic Casablanca.
The Sum of Us is a 1994 Australian LGBT-related comedy drama film directed by Kevin Dowling and Geoff Burton. The film is based on the 1990 play of the same name by David Stevens, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson. The screen adaptation mimics the play's device of breaking the fourth wall with direct to camera conversational asides by both Harry and Jeff Mitchell.
During World War II, it was estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 members of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces surrendered to Allied servicemembers prior to the end of World War II in Asia in August 1945. Also, Soviet troops seized and imprisoned more than half a million Japanese troops and civilians in China and other places. The number of Japanese soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who surrendered was limited by the Japanese military indoctrinating its personnel to fight to the death, Allied combat personnel often being unwilling to take prisoners, and many Japanese soldiers believing that those who surrendered would be killed by their captors.
Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima was a Japanese airman in World War II. His A6M Zero was the first of that type to be recovered relatively intact on Allied territory when he crash landed on Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia.
Return from the River Kwai is a 1989 British film directed by Andrew McLaglen and starring Edward Fox, Chris Penn and Timothy Bottoms.
The Cowra Breakout is a 1984 Australian mini series based on the Cowra breakout, focusing on the friendship between an Australian soldier and Japanese prisoner.
Graham Shirley is an Australian author, researcher, curator and filmmaker best known for his work in the area of Australian film history.
